Lean on me
by BluePhantom15
Summary: "Let go of me sensei. I am not a child, so do not treat me as one." Kakashi said so calmly that it was almost inhuman."Kakashi, take a good look in the mirror once you get home. I think you'll realize you are a child, and your going to have to accept it."


**Bluephantom15: Hey everyone. Since your here your either,**

**a) Bored **

**b) You enjoy Minato and Kakashi Fic's **

**or **

**c) Extremely bored.**

**Well either way, I hope you guys enjoy! This is just a little Father/son relationship between Kakashi and Minato. **

**Disclaimer: I own nothing, and you people better pray it stays that way. :) (jk) **

It was dark.

That was the only way to describe the pitch black night that seemed to engulf everything. The silence in the small village was almost eerie. As if there should have been some sort of sounds, in the background that simple weren't there. That is what seemed to worry Minto the most, as he walked along the deserted streets of Konoha. He searched and listened for anything that would give him hints as to where this unsettling feeling in his gut was going from. He knew something was out there. He just needed to figure out where it was.

Death seemed to hang over him as he walked the silent streets. It had only been a day since Sakumo Hatake's funeral, and he couldn't help feel somewhat responsible for his death. He didn't know why exactly. Maybe it was because Kakashi was his student or because he didn't do anything to stop the curses and rumours that spread like wildfire throughout the village. But he felt the weight of white fangs death in his heart regardless of the reasons. He knew it must have hit his student the hardest, but he didn't know how Kakashi was feeling because he hadn't seen the young shinobi for a while now.

He had meant to visit Kakashi right after the funeral, but for some reason couldn't find him anywhere. At first he didn't think much of it, seeing as he didn't know where Kakashi was now staying. But as time went by, and there was no trace of the young chunin, he began to worry more and more. That was why he was now walking alone, on these abandoned streets so late at night. He was looking for the small grey haired child that no on else had bothered to even look at.

Minato picked up the pace, running now, and searching frantically. Where was he? He couldn't have left the village could he? Surely not in such sort time, without taking his things.

"Kakashi, I swear if I don't find you in the next hour, there will be hell to pay" Minato huffed under his brief. He stopped suddenly to get a good view of his surroundings.

Concentrating, he tried to search for Kakashi's chakra signature. At first there was nothing. Then as Minato became more focused, he detected a very faint chakra which he immediately knew was Kakashi's, and immediately knew it wasn't good. This was because when you sense a faint chakra signal, it is usually because the person is far away. But this wasn't the case. When Minato sensed Kakashi's signature it was close, but it was so diminished and weak that it seemed far away.

"I swear If you go and get yourself hurt beyond repair, I'm gonna kill you myself!" Minato hissed under his brief before he headed in the direction where Kakashi's chakra signals were coming from.

Minato finally found himself in one of Khona training grounds, staring at a hot, sweaty and exhausted sliver haired boy.

Just as the boy was about to lift his kunai again, Minato flashed behind him, and grabbed his risks.

"What exactly do you think your doing?" Minato hissed.

Kakashi, shocked and now alert, tried to slip himself out of his attackers grip. But it was no use as Minato simple tightened his grip further, and turned Kakashi around to face him. At first Kakashi continued to struggle, twisting and turning in the most awkward of ways to try and break free. Then as Kakashi's face lifted to look at his captors face, his struggling stopped at once. Minato felt the six year old go limp in his arms.

"Oh it's you," Was the only response out of the boy's mouth.

"Yeah, and it's you. Next time you plan a field trip to kill yourself, invite me." He growled down at his student.

"I wasn't planning on killing myself," Kakashi mumbled, trying to move away from his sensei, avoiding eye contact. But instead of Minato letting go, he grabbed Kakashi's other risk, and pulled him forward, forcing Kakashi to face him again.

"Oh no you don't, you are not going back to training. You are going to get some rest, right now." The Yellow Flash was stern, and his tone of voice made it clear that he would not accept no for an answer. But that didn't stop Kakashi from going against his wishes.

"Let go of me sensei. I am not a child, so do not treat me as one." Kakashi said so calmly that it was almost inhuman.

Minato had to stop himself from laughing at the absurd statement.

"Kakashi, take a good look in the mirror once you get home. I think you'll realize you _**are**_ a child." He spat at the younger shinobi in his grip. "And whether you like it or not, you are soon going to have to accept that fact. Now we can either stand like this all night, or get some sleep."

"Standing here sounds fine to me." Kakashi replied, clearly trying to irritate the blond.

To Kakashi's surprise it actually seemed to have worked. He felt his sensei's hands, tighten into a painful hold, and his blue eyes narrow in on Kakashi. Minato took a step forward, and lend down, so that their faces were almost touching.

"Okay, you brat. Since you insist on making this difficult, I am going to give you two options. Minato hissed. "One, you willingly come with me, back to your apartment and stay there until morning, or two, I drag you to _my_ apartment and make sure you get some rest."

Kakashi began to struggle against the blonds grip again, not liking either of the options given. This time, Kakashi managed to break free, and step back a few feet before standing up straight. Minato didn't make any attempt to catch him again, but simply waited to see what Kakashi planned to do next.

After a few moments of silence, Minato began to become impatient.

"So? What will it be then? I don't know about you, but the first offer sounds better to me. Of course I wouldn't mind the company." Minato said, using a slightly mocking tone in an attempt to gain a reaction from the small boy.

It seemed to work, as Kakashi's eyes slightly narrowed in irritation. Minato could also faintly hear a hiss from under the silver haired boy's mask.

"You are not my parent or guardian so I don't believe it is any of your concern what I do with myself after hours. I can practice if I wish, and you have no right to order me otherwise. Now I would appreciate it, if you would leave me to the rest of my training."

"Your right Kakashi, I'm not your parent." Minato stated, "But parent or not, I will not see you work yourself to death because you feel you have nothing better to do. I know Sakumo wouldn't have wanted you to behave like this either."

At the mention of his father's name, Kakashi winced slightly. This did not go unnoticed be Minato, and it immediately confirmed his suspicions. Kakashi did care about his father's death, and this behaviour was simply his way of coping with his grief.

"Just leave me alone. You don't know anything. You don't understand. Go away." Kakashi said, trying to make his voice sound threatening, but to no avail. Instead, he sounded tired and broken.

"Come on Kakashi, it's time to go back." Minato said softly, gesturing with his hand for Kakashi to come to him. However, this just seemed to make Kakashi back off even more.

"Didn't you hear what I just said!" Kakashi shouted at the man, anger and frustration building up inside of him. "Leave me alone! I'm not going back! S-so- just leave!"

Minato sighed, brushing a pale hand through his thick hair. "Kakashi, I already told you. You're exhausted. It's a miracle that you haven't passed out yet! You need to get some rest, and I am not leaving until you do. You might as well just co-operate, and make this easier on both of us."

"Shut up! I'm fine! I'll go to sleep when I feel like it!"

Kakashi was breaking. His extreme exhaustion was catching up to him. Minato could tell by the way he was responding. Kakashi would normally never loose his cool like this. His tiredness was causing him to act childish, and respond irrationally. Soon he would loose it all together. Minato had to make sure he got him back to the village before it came to that.

"Kakashi, I'll ask one more time. Come back to the village with me." He said calmly.

"No." Kakashi responded, his voice cold as steel.

"Fine have it your way."

Before Kakashi could even register what was happening, Minato had flashed behind him, and grabbed him around the waist. He then lifted Kakashi up, so that he settled in between the inside of arm, and his upper body. Kakashi began to thrash around, yelling and protesting. Minato simple ignored the loud cries, and began heading towards his apartment.

Once there, he opened the door, and turned on the light. Then he moved towards the single bedroom, with Kakashi still attempting to break free. Careful not to let Kakashi hit him, Minato placed him down on the bed.

Kakashi instantly jumped up, and attempted to punch the older male. This did little good, as Minato simply dodged the oncoming fist.

"Come on now, no need to get violent." Minato muttered, as he avoided yet another punch from the small chunin.

"Okay, that's enough. I think we're done for the day" He huffed.

"Whoa!" Minato yelped, as Kakashi threw a foot at his head. Narrowly escaping the attack, Minato stepped back, catching his breathe.

Kakashi scowled, keeping in a defensive position. "Your right, **"we"**___are done_ for the day. Now leave me alone!" he roared.

Minato stood there blankly. Only now did he truly seem to realize how screwed up Kakashi really was right now. The boy seemed close to tears, and he looked like a mess. Worse, he truly looked... broken. That was the word that seemed to describe best what he was seeing at the moment. A small,_ broken_ child.

Who would never feel the warm touch of a parent again. Who would no longer know what it felt like to be embraced by someone who truly loved him. Who would have no one to cry to when he felt utterly alone.

Kakashi had no one, and that's what scared him the most.

Minato could feel his heart throb slightly in his chest as he looked down on his student. Those once stone cold eyes were barely holding back the water that threatened to leak out. That once emotionless face, was now a pool of frustration.

And it hurt to look at.

It hurt to see the person he once thought to be unbreakable, shatter like glass before his eyes. All this time he thought Kakashi could do anything, get through anything. He was wrong, and he could see that now. Even though Kakashi acted like he could do anything alone, it wasn't true. Even up till now, he had at least one person holding him up. But now that person was gone, and with that the last string that held Kakashi sanity. Now he was nothing but an empty shell.

"Didn't I tell you to leave!" The boy shouted once more, fist's raised in anger.

Minato snapped out of his thoughts, once again turning his attention to the shouting six year old.

"Well that would be kind of hard considering this is my house." He chuckled lightly, surprised the young boy had not taken this into account. This was just more proof of how exhausted Kakashi was.

"Fine then, let me out then!" He said, his voice cracking slightly on each word.

"And if I did, where would you go?" Minato asked calmly. This startled Kakashi a bit as he obviously was not expecting the question.

"Umm... I don't know! I just want to get out of here. I want to go outside..." He trailed off, not knowing how to complete his sentence.

"Why? Does the darkness give you comfort? Does it make you feel better when you sulk alone? Do you like it when no one can help you, and you can feel bad for yourself?" Minato knew they were harsh words, but Kakashi needed to hear them. He needed to learn that he shouldn't take everything alone. That he needed to let go of all the sadness built up inside him.

"Shut up! You don't understand a thing! I don't care okay! He was a traitor he deserved to die!" Kakashi screamed, throwing the bed pillow at Minato's face.

Minato caught it, letting it drop to the floor.

"But you do care. You care so much it's killing you on the inside, but you don't want anyone to know or see. That's why you don't want anyone's comfort, even though you know it will help you." He said softly.

"Shut up! Shut up! Shut up!" Kakashi chanted, throwing his hands on either side of his head to cover his ears.

Minato could see water falling down the boy's cheeks now, as they socked into his mask.

"Kakashi..." Minato trialed off.

"No!" screamed the silver haired boy, backing up against the white bed.

Minato sighed, finally accepting that he would have to resort to drastic measures at this point.

In one fluent and swift movement, he grabbed Kakashi, and hugged him.

Kakashi's eye went wide, taking into account what his sensei was doing. And if he had to be honest with himself, he didn't exactly hate it. It was warm, almost comfortable. The embrace wasn't hard or awkward, but gentle and kind. He could even faintly hear his sensei's heart beating, as his face was buried in Minato's chest. It was a soothing rhythm; just like the one he heard whenever he hugged his dad when he got home from a mission. He felt at peace, and maybe, just maybe, he felt... safe.

"I was alone at a very young age too. At least, I felt alone. Like no one in the world cared about an insignificant person like me." Minato whispered softly. "I thought that because I had no parents, that no one would be there to care for me. I was just dead weight to a village that would never accept me."

He paused, seeing if Kakashi was still following him. To his surprise, he felt Kakashi move just the slightest bit forward, closer to him.

He gently tightened his hold on the small, silver haired boy.

"But that wasn't true at all. There _were_ people there who loved me. Who cared for me, and would do anything to keep me safe. I just couldn't see them yet." He said, rocking Kakashi back and forth slightly. "The help I needed was always there, in the people that surrounded me everyday. I just needed to let them in. And I'm glad I did, because they helped me feel a way I hadn't felt in a long time."

"What?" Kakashi whispered, his eyelids drawing down.

Minato smiled. "Loved."

Kakashi, tired pushing away, but Minato didn't let go, keeping the small shinobi close to him.

"I don't need love." Kakashi said, trying to sound bitter, but the frailty in his voice made it loose its affect.

"Yes you do, everyone needs to feel loved. Just look at your dad. Even a great shinobi like him needed to see your cute smile everyday to keep going." Minato said, smiling.

Kakashi snorted at the statement, as if it appalled him so much he would gag. Minato chuckled softly at his expression, but continued.

"Everyone needs someone Kakashi, especially at a time like this. Even you. And if you'll let me, I can be that someone. Just until your able to stand on your own two feet again. I'll be your pillar of support." Minato said seriously.

"I am standing on my own two feet, and you don't look like a pillar to me." Kakashi scowled.

This just made Minato laugh even more. "There expressions. They mean that, no matter what, and whether you like it or not, I'll always be there for you."

"Why?" Kakashi asked, his eyes growing darker with exhaustion.

"Because I love you, just like so many other people in this village. And I'm sure none of them would want you to feel like this either." Minato said simply, as if this was the only logical response.

"What do you want me to do then!" Kakashi said, getting slightly annoyed.

"Lean on me." Minato said. "Let me help you get through all the miserable times in your life. Let others help you. It's what your dad would have wanted. Not for you to cage yourself in, like he did."

"You don't know anything." Kakashi said, bluntly.

"In that case you can teach me, while you're living here."

Kakashi's eyes went wide again, shocked by the words that had come out of his sensei's mouth.

"What!" He almost screamed.

Minato chuckled. "This is going to be your knew home for the next couple of months. Just until I can be sure you don't try anything stupid."

Kakashi broke out of Minato's embrace, and grumbled to himself, becoming extremely dizzy. Swaying slightly, his eyesight suddenly became blurry, as everything seemed to whirl around him. Seeing what was happening, Minato immediately jumped to his aid. Grabbing the boy, and placing him on the bed.

Feeling the soft covers come up to meet him, Kakashi looked at Minato, an annoyed expression on his face.

"You're not going to leave?" He spat.

"I'm afraid not. I can't have you jumping out the window's now can I? Minato said

"Great, so I'm under house arrest now? You realize that just makes me feel even worse right?" Kakashi mumbled through pillow.

"Well like I said, if your ever feeling lonely, sad or uncomfortable all you have to do is-"

"Let me guess. Lean on you?" Kakashi said, finishing Minato's sentence.

Smiling Minato moved the covers over Kakashi's small figure.

"Now you're getting it."

Kakashi sighed, closing his eyes. "I guess I have no choice then. Good night."

Minato bent down, and softly kissed the top of Kakashi's head.

"Good night." He whispered back.

Then all that could be heard in the white painted room was two pairs of light snoring, as they filled the silent night.

**BluePhatnom15: I hope you enjoyed the read. I know it was kinda chessy, and Minato was sorta OOC, but I hope you liked it anyways. Sorry for any grammar/spelling errors you may have found. **

**~Please review! It would really make my day! ^_^ ~**


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